"No, I do not [have an iPod]. Nor do my children. My children -- in many dimensions they're as poorly behaved as many other children, but at least on this dimension I've got my kids brainwashed: You don't use Google, and you don't use an iPod," -- to Fortune in 2006.

"There's no chance that the iPhone is going to get any significant market share. No chance. It's a $500 subsidized item. They may make a lot of money. But if you actually take a look at the 1.3 billion phones that get sold, I'd prefer to have our software in 60 percent or 70 percent or 80 percent of them, than I would to have 2 percent or 3 percent, which is what Apple might get," -- in a 2007 interview with USA Today.

"Apple gained about one point, but now I think the tide has really turned back the other direction ... Paying an extra $500 for a computer in this environment -- same piece of hardware -- paying $500 more to get a logo on it? I think that's a more challenging proposition for the average person than it used to be.," -- speaking about PC market share at a conference in New York in 2009.

"The one thing that I think separates Microsoft from a lot of other people is we make bold bets. We're persistent about them, but we make them. A lot of people won't make a bold bet. A bold bet doesn't assure you of winning, but if you make no bold bets you can't continue to succeed. Our industry doesn't allow you to rest on your laurels forever," -- speaking on stage at Microsoft's Worldwide Partner Conference in 2012.

"The truth of the matter is it's hard to invent anything. It's hard to invent a new thing, and it's just as hard to invent another new thing. I think we've been pretty successful, but it's hard. It is hard. I think we've done a pretty good job of it. We not only did Windows, we did Office," speaking at the same conference on driving innovation at Microsoft.

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